Elegant Fragrance Garden

Li Yunjing had initially thought these jade records were just like ordinary books in the mortal world: you simply read through them.

Who could have guessed that as soon as he opened this "Divine Firmament Dao" jade record, it would not only explain things aloud but also guide him with images?

If he couldn't even learn this, wouldn't he be a total fool?

The "Qi Refining Formula" Li Yunjing had received earlier required him to study it carefully on his own. How could it compare to this method, which was like watching television?

Li Yunjing had truly broadened his horizons this time. If he hadn't come to the Divine Firmament Dao Sect and had kept muddling along in the mortal world, wouldn't he have just grown weaker and weaker?

He carefully followed the movements shown in the book and practiced the techniques recorded in the "Divine Firmament Dao" once. He couldn't help but marvel. The foundational knowledge here was incredibly comprehensive—far superior to the Qi Refining Formula he had learned before.

Everything, from circulating and controlling qi to absorbing the world's primordial energy, was laid out in meticulous steps. Some of the little tips could even improve the efficiency of absorbing that energy.

With every breath and every motion or moment of stillness, Li Yunjing felt that the methods recorded in the "Divine Firmament Dao" made him at least three times as efficient as he had been the day before.

Before long, Li Yunjing had mastered the new qi-refining method.

After mastering it, Li Yunjing didn't lose himself in cultivation.

Time was short, and he was about to become part of the sect. He hurriedly read through the sect rules.

Afterward, he carefully studied the history of the Divine Firmament Dao Sect, the customs and culture of the Great Ming Dynasty, information on other cultivation forces, and accounts of demons, devils, and places of adventure.

Of course, he also pored over common knowledge of the cultivation world, including how to identify magic treasures, pills, formations, spiritual objects, spiritual materials, and talismans.

This knowledge was extremely important, especially to Li Yunjing. It was precisely what he lacked.

Li Yunjing read at astonishing speed. Every diagram and description was clearly etched into his mind.

At that moment, his extraordinary intelligence and keen comprehension came into full view.

The knowledge recorded in these few jade records was vast. If it had been made into books as in his previous life, it would probably have filled an entire study.

But with just one glance from Li Yunjing, each piece of information was firmly recorded in his mind.

The knowledge in these jade records was so detailed that only after studying and reading them did Li Yunjing finally understand the true shape of the world!

Before this, much of what he had learned while traveling through the mortal world had been wrong!

Now his understanding of the world had been corrected, and he had set foot on the right path.

"Thank goodness I joined the Divine Firmament Dao Sect. If I'd stormed off in a fit of anger and become a rogue cultivator, I'd have started cultivating the wrong way. What kind of results could I possibly have gotten?"

Li Yunjing kept marveling as he read, growing more and more excited.

He even forgot to eat. For an entire day and night, he was caught up in excitement.

Immersed in an ocean of knowledge, he poured his whole heart into it, forgetting all about fatigue and hunger.

It wasn't until noon the next day, when his eyes were bloodshot and veined with red, that he finally understood some of the truth about this world.

Especially the many things concerning the territory of the Great Ming Dynasty.

Unfortunately, the things recorded in the "Divine Firmament Jade Records" were intended for public knowledge and covered only the Great Ming Dynasty.

There were only a few brief notes about other countries and continents.

And there wasn't much about the inner workings of the Divine Firmament Dao Sect, either.

Most of it concerned events from a thousand years ago. There was almost nothing about what had happened inside or outside the Divine Firmament Dao Sect over the past ten or twenty years.

Li Yunjing understood that this was the Divine Firmament Dao Sect's way of keeping things confidential.

As a lowly Menial Disciple, he was only allowed to know this much.

If he wanted to learn more, he would have to rise through the ranks, starting as an Outer Disciple and advancing all the way to True Disciple!

For now, Li Yunjing could only suppress his hunger for knowledge.

Since he knew so little about the sect's inner workings, he could only keep a low profile, settle into his role as a Menial Disciple, and slowly familiarize himself with the sect's affairs.

Putting down the jade records, Li Yunjing stood up and stretched his limbs, then gave a long, full-body stretch.

After going a day and a night without eating, Li Yunjing was hungry, too.

He washed up quickly, then left the courtyard, preparing to head to the Menial Hall's dining hall for a meal.

The disciples of the Menial Hall were all poor souls. Naturally, they weren't entitled to rely on Inedia Pills for sustenance.

Even Outer Disciples still needed to eat.

Competition among Outer Disciples was fierce. The contribution points and Spirit Stones they worked so hard to earn had to be carefully budgeted and spent on improving their strength.

Most Outer Disciples couldn't bear to waste Spirit Stones on Inedia Pills. They needed to eat, too.

If even Outer Disciples were like that, then Menial Disciples like Li Yunjing certainly needed all three meals a day.

One of the Menial Disciples' duties was to manage the dining hall and arrange three meals a day for both Outer Disciples and Menial Disciples.

Following the directions in the sect's information jade record, Li Yunjing walked for a quarter of an hour and found the dining hall east of the Menial Hall.

The dining hall was enormous. It was a standalone palace three stories tall, with three large characters, "Elegant Fragrance Garden," written on the signboard above the entrance.

This was where the Divine Firmament Dao Sect's Menial Disciples came to eat.

At that moment, groups of gray-robed Daoists were constantly coming and going through the entrance.

"Let's go take a look!"

Li Yunjing nodded and strode into the hall. The first thing he saw was a large room.

The hall was bright and spacious. Rows of glazed lamps hung from the ceiling, casting light into every corner.

Li Yunjing glanced around. The hall held at least five or six thousand roomy seats.

Menial Disciples crisscrossed the hall. Some chatted, some sat at tables eating, and others gathered in groups of three or five to discuss Martial Dao Cultivation and various sect missions.

"Are there really this many Menial Disciples in the Divine Firmament Dao Sect?"

Li Yunjing's mouth fell open in astonishment.

Looking at his fellow disciples eating before him, Li Yunjing was deeply shaken.

He truly hadn't expected the Divine Firmament Dao Sect to recruit so many mere Menial Disciples.

He had thought there were only eight or nine hundred people in the entire sect!

It turned out he really had been a frog at the bottom of a well, and had greatly underestimated the Divine Firmament Dao Sect.

Li Yunjing didn't know how powerful the Divine Firmament Dao Sect's techniques were. He only knew it was the foremost Daoist sect on the Tian Nan Continent.

But after seeing the standard supplies handed out to Menial Disciples and coming here to eat, he had truly felt the strength of the Divine Firmament Dao Sect.

There must be at least ten thousand Menial Disciples!

"Brother, here to eat, too? Let me introduce myself. We joined in the same batch. My name is Ma Xingyuan, a rogue cultivator from Ming Prefecture. Now we're fellow disciples."

As Li Yunjing stood there, dazed, a voice sounded beside him.